Box Office: January 2007 Archives

My favorite musical ever, "Dreamgirls," made its presence known over the New Years holiday weekend taking in an estimated $18.7 million. That may pale in comparison to the big numbers racked up by Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum" and Will Smith's "Pursuit of Happyness" but "Dreamgirls" is playing in at least 2,000 fewer theaters than either of those films. After playing in just three threaters in NY, LA and SF for a few weeks, the movie opened in 852 locations on Christmas Day. It has so far grossed an impressive $41.6 million and should see its numbers get real interesting when it finally goes into wider release (1,800 theaters) on January 12. I think this movie is s shoo-in to make at least $150 million domestically, especially once Oscar nominations are announced in a few weeks. Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy are assured nods and if director Bill Condon isn't nominated, then things could get ugly that day here on Out in Hollywood.